That Evening Sun (2009)

Hal Holbrook (All the President's Men, Into the Wild) stars as octogenarian Abner Meecham, a widowed farmer who has been confined to a nursing home by his lawyer son (played by Walton Goggins). When Meecham becomes fed up with the dull, meaningless life among aging strangers, he returns to his farm, only to find that it has been rented to a man he despises: Lonzo Choat (Raymond McKinnon), a disreputable "white trash" resident of the town who has unrealistic dreams of buying the farm and starting a new life for his wife (Carrie Preston) and daughter (Mia Wasikowska). Choat refuses to vacate the farm, Meecham moves into the sharecroppers' shed, and a battle of wills ensues.Holbrook's performance is mesmerizing – the audience drawn into his battle for the farm he built and tended for half a century, and despite the problems his age presents in managing the land, we want to know that he will succeed in achieving his goal of spending his last years at home. While other characters in the film see Meecham as stubborn, bitter, mean and just a little crazy, Holbrook's portrayal helps us see him as clever, wily and all-too-human as he not only battles for his independence but lives with age-old regrets.Each of the films main characters demonstrate for the viewer what can happen when compromise and communication are eliminated as elements in achieving a solution. Meecham understandably wants to go home, but cannot acknowledge that there is physical risk and financial concern in such a move; Choat wants a new life, but cannot see that such a goal will require more determination and planning than he is able to achieve; and Paul has little sympathy for his father and is locked into a sensible, cost-efficient solution in tending to his aging parent. We watch and hope for cooperation to take place; we think of options that never present themselves, and we wonder if we could do better if faced with similar circumstances.Director Scott Teems' ability to draw the viewer into this southern drama of wills (based on a short story by William Gay) is enhanced through detailed cinematography – close-up shots of elements of decay on the farm make us long for a solution that will reverse the deterioration; interior shots are musty – one can almost smell the dust and wood-rot of aging structures; scenes filmed at night capture the isolation of a farm where threats can be acted upon without witness; and daylight scenes are rich with color and lush greenery, making us crave the beauty serenity of life in the farmlands of Tennessee. Character portrayals are supremely convincing, and while we are prone to side with Meecham, we can also understand the struggles and desires of those others who hope to start over or do what is best under difficult circumstances.The winner of more than 40 awards and massive critical acclaim, That Evening Sun is a treasure among independent films that will linger in the hearts and minds of viewing audiences long after the films' end.

Early in the film, when young Pamela Choat first tries being friendly to crusty old Abner Meecham, I said to my wife, "This better not end all warm and fuzzy." Well it didn't. It was a film of nuances and complexities. When we first meet Abner's lawyer son Paul, a hyper-busy lawyer who had "persuaded" Abner to go into the old folks' home, I said, "Why are lawyers always portrayed as bad guys?" But toward the end, as Paul finds himself dealing with yet another crisis in his dad's life, brought on by Abner himself, my wife said, "That poor guy"--meaning Paul.Similarly, Lonzo Choat, a scuzzy son of a bitch who rents Abner's old property and resents Abner's return after escaping from the old folks' home, clearly is a low life. He beats his wife and daughter, lives off disability payments that he no longer deserves, is lazy and a drinker, and eventually hangs Abner's dog out of spite. Yet at least we get some understanding of him, and in the end, like it or not, he is forced to save Abner from the shack that he (Abner) has set afire.Abner is more than just a curmudgeon. Don't look here for a crusty old guy who really has a heart of gold. We learn just enough to know that he was mean to his wife and son, and increasingly Abner himself dreams of his dead wife in the act of forgiving him. We learn that his wife died after he left her behind in the house out of spite, because she was taking so much time choosing a dress.Yet Abner is hard to dislike in many ways. He is resourceful, proud, self-reliant. A complicated man.Hal Holbrook is wonderful in his portrayal of Abner. His performance, along with a very strong screenplay, has given us a really interesting and intelligent drama for adults.

This movie came from nowhere for me here in Australa. Its a little middle-American indie film that I had never heard of until I saw it advertised on my upcoming orders list. I just finished watching it and it is a fantastic character study. It stars Hal Holbrook in one of the finest performances in his long and successful career. He plays an old man who walks out of his nursing-home and returns to the farm he owned for over 50 years only to find it occupied by new tenants. Being stubborn he squats in the old worker's quarters and wages a personal war against the new family. From there the film becomes a real examination of this old man's mind. He is at the narrow end of life and has nothing to show for it. Everything he knew was taken away and he is doomed to live the rest of his life with regret about many things in his life. Unbeknownst to him, much of his traits are reflected in his newly appointed enemy. Its a slow drama with moments of tension. The performances are exceptional and the relationship he has with his old neighbour is wonderful (some of the best scenes). Well worth a look.

In my opinion column, On San Diego, I offered a brief positive review of That Evening Sun after viewing it at the San Diego Film Festival. Those published comments are offered below."That Evening Sun," starring Hal Holbrook, shown on Sunday night to a packed house as the last film of the 2009 San Diego Film Festival. Now in his 80s, Holbrook gives a tremendous and subtle performance, as do all of the other actors in this Southern Gothic set in Tennessee: Walton Goggins, Mia Wasikowska, Carrie Preston and Ray McKinnon. With a screenplay written by Scott Teems, like fine red wine, well made and maintained, every character of the movie is developed and complex -- even the barking dog!The tension between characters, circumstances and passions makes this film a rarity, genuinely gripping from scene to scene and unpredictable to the end. The sound track is beautiful and delicately augments the emotional tension as the film wonderfully plays against the painterly rustic sharecropper house interior, forest, sunset sky and fantastically grizzled faces of authentically rendered people pursuing their respective deep, heartfelt aspirations. Like a Henry James novella, the film is underlain with ambiguity and uncertainty, empathy and shifting sympathies that will provoke conversation; one might pronounce it a good "date movie," with something for both men and women. A gem, this film is the kind one may only see at a film festival.San Diegans were lucky to be among the first to see the final cut of this fine work. Fortunately, come Thanksgiving time, 2009, "That Evening Sun" will be seen in limited release in Los Angeles and New York theatres. Perchance it will also return to San Diego?